Union News: Our Bold Move Against MCAS Testing Regime

Greetings,

Yesterday was a great day for our campaign to take out a keystone of the high-stakes testing regime. With local MTA leaders, religious leaders, parents, students and fellow union leaders at our side, we held a press conference and then testified in a State House hearing on our ballot initiative to remove the MCAS graduation requirement. In a clear statement about how much NEA supports this campaign, and sees the MTA as a national leader for a shared vision of less testing and more learning, we were joined by NEA President Becky Pringle, who flew in from Chicago for the hearing.  

The day before, Deb had participated in a play and protest in front of the State House organized by young people from the Boston Workers Circle school, who described the impact of testing on the experience of school. 

When the Legislature holds a hearing starting at 1 p.m., it makes it near impossible for many members to be there. But so many of you made your voices heard — you responded to our call in last week’s weekly (and the special edition weekly!) and sent in more than 480 of your own testimonies calling for the end of the graduation requirement and all that it does to distort education.

On the other side of the state, Max testified Friday at an invitation-only hearing on the upcoming state budget. He highlighted the need to infuse a lot more money into “P16” education (preK through higher ed), both to fulfill the goals for high-quality, debt-free public higher education embodied in the Cherish Act, and to prevent terrible cuts being threatened in many preK-12 districts, especially in rural and small town districts. You can read and watch the testimony, and see our proposal to fix how inflation is calculated for Chapter 70 — something that is depriving districts of more than $300 million dollars in total.

MTA Events And Solidarity Actions 

Too many districts in too many states are failing to protect LGBTQ+, trans- and non-binary youth. We have joined the NEA in signing on to a letter urging an investigation into the death of Nex Benedict, a student in Oklahoma. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was undertaking a civil rights investigation. We encourage members to please consult these NEA resources on how to support our youth. 

Congratulations to Avon educators for winning an excellent contract — close to a 4% raise each year for the entire duration of the contract for all educators — along with a number of improvements to working conditions. Most importantly, through this long campaign, they built the power of their local.

Retiree Speaker Series: Before the Martha's Vineyard Migrants, There Were Reverse Freedom Rides

When: Wednesday, March 6 at 3 p.m. Where: Virtual

Sixty years ago, white supremacist groups in the American South bused Black community members north. Today, mayors and governors across the United States are busing migrants to cities and towns far away. What can we learn from resistance to the reverse freedom rides of the 1960s? How might those lessons be applied today? Register here.

Cambridge ESP bargaining

We were honored to join the Cambridge Education Association for the kick-off ESP bargaining last week. Close to 100 members and allies from nearby districts showed up to serve as silent representatives, something that seemed to rattle the district’s bargaining team. This is the new way we that the MTA does negotiation. Remember there is no obligations to agree to ground rules. And your local gets to determine who the bargaining team is, including having the silent member representatives of your choice.

Gloucester bargaining

When: Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m. Where: Gloucester High School

Please make plans to show up for the Gloucester Teachers Association as they kick off their bargaining on March 11 at 4 p.m. at the high school.

Discussion of the growing power of unions. Join us – TONIGHT!

When: Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. Where: UMass Amherst

For those in western Mass. — or eager for a drive out to the 413! — please join Max and former MTA President Barbara Madeloni as they speak about the growing power of unions, and especially educator unions at the UMass Amherst College of Education.

Conversation of the UAW Strike

UMass Amherst’s Labor Center will host Chris Brooks, the top aide to UAW President Shawn Fain, next Monday, March 11, from 6 to 7 p.m., to talk about the remarkable UAW strike this past fall, as well as the UAW’s next project — to help workers at southern auto plans join the union.

Winter MTA Today

The winter edition of MTA Today is now online and includes several articles that relate to the mental wellness of educators and students. This edition also includes information on upcoming MTA elections, the MTA Benefits Advantage and updates on the Thrive and Cherish Acts. Read it here: massteacher.org/mtatoday.

Mycology Grants & Scholarships

Boston Mycological Club, an organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of fungi, offers grants and scholarships to educators for professional development and community outreach programs.

Political Education 

Friday, March 8, is International Women’s Day. It is an apt time to remind us all of the longstanding pay gap for educators, which we have highlighted in this political education space before. When we demand more at the table, we are getting closer to the day when, at the very least, there is no pay gap between educators and similarly educated and credentialed professionals. Because most of our members are women, this fight is also fundamentally a fight for gender pay equity. 

We also need to keep raising our demands in bargaining because the cost of living in the Commonwealth keeps rising. New research from MIT shows that the hourly wage needed to cover the cost of living in Massachusetts increased by more than $6 over the past year. According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator:

• A single adult in Massachusetts with no children, working full-time, needs to earn $27.89/hour just to support themselves this year, up from $21.35/hour in 2023. 

• A couple with one child, both working full-time, need to each earn $28.38/hour just to pay for housing, food, childcare, transportation, medical costs, and other basic expenses, up from $24.72/hour in 2023.

In solidarity,

Max and Deb

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